Country of origin United States Original network CBS | No. of episodes 24 | |
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Original release September 22, 2008 (2008-09-22) – May 18, 2009 (2009-05-18) | ||
The fourth season of the American television comedy series How I Met Your Mother premiered on September 22, 2008 and concluded on May 18, 2009. It consisted of 24 episodes, each running approximately 22 minutes in length. CBS broadcast the fourth season on Monday nights at 8:30 pm in the United States. The complete fourth season was released on Region 1 DVD on September 29, 2009. In the United Kingdom it aired on E4.
Contents
The fourth season is the only season of How I Met Your Mother to be nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Main cast
Recurring cast
Guest cast
U.S. viewership
This season is currently the second highest rated season of How I Met Your Mother in terms of viewership, at an average of 9.42 million viewers. However, it is currently the highest rated in terms of the important Adults 18-49 demographic, which is what advertisers use to determine how much a 30-second advertising spot costs. Season 4 averaged 4.0/10 in terms of rating/share in the Adults 18-49 demographic.
Critical response
The season received highly positive reviews. Michelle Zoromski of IGN gave Season 4 an overall rating of 8.5 out of 10. Michelle stated, "This fourth season seemed to settle down the chase for the titular mother. While Ted was busy dating Stella, the gang settled into many stand alone episodes which were every bit as entertaining as episodes devoted to Ted's love life," later going on to say, "A stellar Robin-Marshall episode, titled "Little Minnesota," makes it clear that these two do not get enough screen time together. With Robin homesick and unemployed (and at risk of being deported), this pairing brought out the best Robin Sparkles reference of the season, when Marshall leads a rousing karaoke version of "Let's Go to the Mall!"